While applying ¹  my mind ²  to everything ³  that happens in this world, ⁴  I have seen all this: Sometimes one person ⁵  dominates ⁶  other people ⁷  to their harm. ⁸ 

I, the Teacher, have been king over Israel in Jerusalem. ¹ 

Sorrow ¹  is better than laughter, because sober reflection ²  is good for the heart. ³ 

One who digs a pit may ¹  fall into it, and one who breaks through a wall may be bitten by a snake. ² 

One who quarries stones may be injured by them; one who splits logs may be endangered by them.

In times of prosperity ¹  be joyful, but in times of adversity ²  consider this: God has made one as well as the other, ³  so that no one can discover what the future holds. ⁴ 

If the clouds are full of rain, they will empty themselves on the earth, and whether a tree falls to the south or to the north, the tree will lie wherever it falls.

Better is one handful with some rest than two hands full of toil ¹  and chasing the wind.

Just as there is futility in many dreams, so also in many words. ¹  Therefore, fear God!

Whoever obeys his ¹  command will not experience harm, and a wise person ²  knows the proper time ³  and procedure.

If the snake should bite before it is charmed, ¹  the snake charmer ²  is in trouble. ³ 

before the sun and the light ¹  of the moon and the stars grow dark, and the clouds disappear ²  after the rain;

Having heard everything, I have reached this conclusion: ¹  Fear God and keep his commandments, because this is the whole duty ²  of man.

For a man may do his work with wisdom, knowledge, and skill; however, he must hand over ¹  the fruit of his labor ²  as an inheritance ³  to someone else who did not work for it. This also is futile, and an awful injustice! ⁴ 

To every man whom God has given wealth, and possessions, he has also given him the ability ¹  to eat from them, to receive his reward and to find enjoyment in his toil; these things ²  are the gift of God.

Whatever you find to do with your hands, ¹  do it with all your might, because there is neither work nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom in the grave, ²  the place where you will eventually go. ³ 

So, if a man lives many years, let him rejoice in them all, but let him remember that the days of darkness ¹  will be many – all that is about to come is obscure. ²